Page 14 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, OCTObER 18, 2024 ~ Crimson Tide Weekly Sports Notebook ~ By Joe McConnell Boys Soccer The Everett High School boys soccer team (5-4-4) went only 1-2 this past week as the regular season is drawing to a close with only five games left on the schedule. The Crimson Tide is seeded 44th in the Division 1 power rankings, as of Oct. 15. But as long as they maintain a .500 or better record, they will qualify for the postseason, where anything can happen. The Tide started off last week very well with a 2-1 triumph over host Chelsea on Oct. 8. “We dominated possession against Chelsea, which created multiple scoring chances. But early on, we struggled to find the back of the net [that ultimately kept it a low scoring game],” said first-year coach Rodney Landaverde. Senior midfielder Santiago Arredondo assisted on the first Everett goal on a through ball that Luvens Hector finished off successfully. A short time later, captain Kareem Drissi split the defense to send a pass to Hector, who beat the last defender to account for the second goal of the game. He now has five goals on the season. Late in the second half, Chelsea scored a goal to trim the deficit to one, but the Everett defense was then able to hold down the Red Devils’ offense to secure the win, while goalie Douglas Landaverde did his job in net, coming up with three saves. Two days later, the Revere Patriots on their home turf shut down the Tide, 5-0. “We were not able to get any momentum throughout this game,” said Landaverde. “Revere possessed the ball very well, and also got our players out of position to beat us on the long ball.” As a result of the home team’s domination, the Patriots were able to carry a commanding 4-0 lead into the second half. Throughout the second half, the Tide did a better job connecting on passes to move the ball upfield more efficiently, but were still not successful on their scoring chances. The Everett boys then went up against Lynn English on Columbus Day at Lynn’s Manning Field, where they fell to the Bulldogs, 4-1. “We learned Everett’s Gabriella Lones Rivera quickly moves the ball upfield as a Revere defender moves in. (Advocate file photo) a lot about ourselves from this game,” said Landaverde. “We rotated players around to get them more minutes, and also see how they would respond to playing different positions, but unfortunately it didn’t work out.” Junior Lucas Rabelo scored the lone goal in this game for the visitors assisted by Arredondo. “We are at the final stretch of the regular season, and are looking forward to getting some more wins to solidify our ticket to the postseason,” said Landaverde. The Tide have since faced Lynn Classical at home yesterday (Oct. 17, after press deadline), before taking on nonleague host Marblehead tomorrow morning, starting at 10 a.m. They will then get ready for the Senior Night game against Somerville at Everett Memorial Stadium on Tuesday, Oct. 22, beginning at 7 p.m. The pregame festivities for the seniors will commence prior to the contest. Fans should get to the Stadium by at least 6:30 p.m., so they won’t miss out on the senior celebration. Girls Soccer The Everett High School girls soccer team (6-6 in the Greater Boston League, 6-7 overall) came into this week on a three-game winning streak that included two home triumphs last week: against Chelsea (7-1, Oct. 8) and Revere (3-1, Oct. 10). The Tide girls are seeded 45th in the Division 1 power rankings, as of Oct. 15, and as long as they end up with a .500 or better record they will be in the postseason. They are close to that target at this stage of the regular season with five games still left on the schedule. Yelsa Garcia paced the offensive attack against the Red Devils with four goals. Two of those goals came off a Chelsea deflection, which landed on her foot both times, and she took advantage of those opportunities to put her teammates on the scoreboard. She needed help from her teammates on the other two scores. Defender Tiffany Aguilar Pineda assisted on one tally, while Connie Paz-Hernandez setup the other marker. Emilia Maria-Babcock played the first half in net and kept a clean sheet. She then played the second half up front, where she contributed three goals to the winning cause. All three of her goals were assisted by three different players, and they were, in no particular order, Sofia Arana-Quintanilla, Nicole Germano Lemus and Garcia. “Overall, the team played much better in the second half,” said coach Dom Persuitte. “We got off to a slow start in the first half, but everything clicked in the second half. Ashley Heath took over the goaltending chores in the second half, and had a solid outing.” The Everett seniors were EHS Crimson Tide Field Hockey Seniors, shown from left to right: Back row: Captain Cephas Orleus, Ricardo Contreras, Captain Jonathan Scioletti and Oliver Derozier; front row: Isabela Lima, Meghan Currie, Captain Jasmine Salvador and Luiza Velev. then awarded another win two nights later at Everett Memorial Stadium against the visiting Patriots. “It was a massive win,” said Persuitte afterwards. Garcia scored two of the team’s three goals in this game. Alondra Flores set up her first score, while captain Casey Martinez assisted on the second tally as a result of a solid strike down the middle of the field that split the Revere defense before landing on Garcia’s foot. Gisele Erazo notched Everett’s other goal from Garcia. Erazo slid her shot home from 20-yards out; it eventually rolled past the Revere goalie and into the net. Lavina Batista Simon and Tiffany Aguilar Pineda played impactful roles in this game from their central defensive midfielder positions, according to Persuitte, and the coach then added, “They have played together with Flores this year, who has been stellar to date in keeping the middle of the field under control.” Maria-Babcock played a solid game in goal against Revere that resulted in sending passes over the top to Garcia and Erazo to ignite the offense. “Maria-Babcock, just like every game she has played in as a keeper this year, turned away almost every shot to help secure the win for her teammates,” said Persuitte. “Central attacking midfielder Mariana Rodrigues controlled and distributed the ball to the wingers throughout the entire Senior Night game against Revere, while Gabriela Lones Rivera stepped up and played well on the outside wing,” added the veteran Everett coach. “Sofia Arana-Quintanilla played lockdown defense. She did not allow any Revere player to get by her.” The coach then continued his assessment of the Revere game by saying, “Overall, the entire team came together and played extremely well. They stepped up to win this game for the seniors, who we are truly proud of and are going to miss next year. Every single one of them brought something special to the table, and their commitment to this program was exceptional throughout the last four years.” The Everett girls played two league games this week against Lynn English (Oct. 15) and Lynn Classical (Oct. 17, after press deadline) before hosting non-league Lowell tomorrow morning (Oct. 19) at 7-Acres, starting at 10 a.m. Cross-Country The boys cross-country team (3-1) lost its first meet of the year to host Somerville last Wednesday (Oct. 9), 1837. They were at Medford to run against the Mustangs two days ago (Oct. 16, after press deadline). The girls team (1-2) also lost to host Somerville, by a virtual shutout, 15-50, before also goSPORTS | SEE PAGE 18
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